Hufflepuff's Metamorphmagi
by Ironicism
Summary: What if Harry met the Tonks instead of the Weasleys in Diagon Alley. What if he was also a metamorphmagus? Harry becomes a Puff and has to resist Dumbledore's machinations and learn what it means to be a member of the Hufflepuff house. Idea for this story comes from AJ3kyll and his story Dark Badger... go read it.
1. Chance Meeting at King's Cross

A/N couldn't sleep last night and a story I read awhile ago popped into my head. Decided to ask the author if I could use bits a pieces (more like chunks) of his story and he gave the go ahead for it. The story is Dark Badger by AJ3kyll. Most of the idea in this chapter and probably the next are his. I took the idea of Harry being a metamorph and meeting Tonks right off the bat. Tonks will be the more dominant one in their relationship and Harry the submissive. He won't be submissive completely, if Tonks tells him to stay out of trouble he'll try to but if Malfoy comes and insults his mom he probably won't take that sitting down. They may or may not be 'close' friends with Angelina, Alicia, and Katie like in the original but its a decent possibility. This will be a correct bwl story unlike Dark Badger and it will feature a manipulative Dumbledore who can do no wrong. The only other story related thing you need to know is that Harry's treatment at the Dursley's affected him worse than canon. He has a stutter and doesn't like people touching him. Anyway that's all for the story. For anyone worrying about Body of Magic, have no fear. This story is somewhat of a backburner story for when I hit blocks in Body of Magic. This story will probably be updated every two weeks or so. Except in this case. I've been on vacation and am going to update a much much shorter chapter two.

* * *

Harry felt lost. He was sitting between platforms nine and ten looking for the platform that was mentioned on his ticket. He was about to go and ask one of the station guards where the platform was when he bumped into someone. Looking up he seen it was a tall fair-haired somewhat chubby man. This scared Harry since he had no idea how he would react. The one time he ran into Uncle Vernon he was literally thrown in his cupboard and locked in for three days with no food or water. He shivered at the memory.

"Watch where you goi-" The man started to say forcefully but cut off as he seen it was just a small kid.

"I'm s-sorry sir. I wasn't l-looking where I was going," Harry replied fearfully, while not fat like his uncle the man still seemed intimidating to Harry.

"Ted manners!" chided a woman who was slightly shorter than the man with dark brown hair and dark but kind eyes that seemed to be tinted with a little purple. She looked at the child her husband bumped into and seen he had a trunk with and owl on top of it. "I'm sorry for my husband child. Are you going to Hogwarts?"

"Y-yes ma'am. I was j-just wondering how to g-get on the p-platform." While the lady didn't seem threatening but rather seemed nice and kind he wasn't able to get rid of his nervousness over talking to someone new.

"Ah, a first year then. You just need to walk through the column between the two platforms. Don't worry," she quickly said after seeing his doubtful and somewhat fearful look, "We were just about to go through to say goodbye to out daughter, Nymphadora. You were lucky to catch us here before we went through the barrier." Seeing this didn't help his doubtful look Andromeda decided to give the extremely shy child one more assurance. "Here watch us go through and we'll wait for you on the other side."

"Th-thank you ma'am," Harry replied, extremely thankful for the fact he ran into this couple. He watched, mesmerized, as first the man, then the woman walked right through the pillar that supported the ceiling. Steeling his nerves as best he could, he pushed his cart up against the pillar and, despite seeing it happen mere seconds earlier, was surprised to feel no resistance. Feeling more confident now that he knew the magic worked he pushed the rest of the way through the barrier. Just as he was about to pass through the barrier following his cart he heard a woman yelling about muggles and the platform.

Reaching the other side he was astounded by what he seen. A red and black train billowing white steam and children waving tearful goodbyes to their parent before they had to get on the train. To him it seemed like a beautiful scene and he felt a pang of jealousy at the obvious love families were showing. He quickly squashed that feeling, freaks like him didn't deserve love, his relatives had told him that often enough. Sighing he looked around for the two people who told him how to get onto the platform, he wanted to thank them for helping him.

He looked around quickly and jumped when someone laid a hand on his shoulder. He quickly spun around and raised his arms in front of his head. Usually when the Dursley's touched him it was to throw him into his closet or Dudley and his friends beating him up. He looked through his arms after a second of nothing happening and seen the couple that had helped him through the barrier just minutes ago. He seen the woman narrow her eyes slightly at his reaction and he was worried she would start asking questions he couldn't answer. Thankfully though they let the matter rest. "We were just looking for you. We wanted to introduce you to our daughter, Nymphadora."

It was then that he noticed the girl who looked to be around fifteen years old and was glaring at her mother. She had violent bubblegum pink hair and purple eyes that he couldn't stop looking into. Without him realizing it his hair color changed to match hers and it lengthened to his shoulders. Hi eye color changed from its usual emerald green to a much softer version than Nymphadora's deep and darker purple. He couldn't help but think she was beautiful and he wondered if she would be his friend. He had always wanted a friend.

The three people gasped and seeing this but the most shocked was Nymphadora. She had never met another metamorphmagus and never thought she would unless she actively looked for another. But here in front of her was a young boy who was just like her. Without thinking of what she was doing she dropped to her knees and hugged him for all she was worth. 'Mine!' ran through her mind as she first grabbed the boy. However when she felt him stiffen in her arms she pulled back slightly and looked at his face.

She was surprised to see his eyes screwed shut and his breathing was becoming shorter and shorter becoming borderline hyperventilating. "What's wrong... I'm sorry what's your name?"

Harry barely heard this as he was being bombarded with images of his relatives and pain in his mind's eye. He was reliving some of the rare times his uncle raised his hand and he was beaten. Because of this it took him a few minute to answer. "Harry," he said shakily, "Harry Potter."

Nymphadora looked at him shocked. She had never heard of Harry Potter being a metamorphmagus like her. But she couldn't waste any time thinking on that right now. She had a bigger issue with Harry right now. The way he reacted to her hug was worrisome. Even worse was how he reacted to her mother putting her hand on Harry's shoulder. If she didn't know any better she would say he never had anyone touch him unless it was to hurt him.

She looked up to her parents to see if they had the same idea. One look into their eyes showed they thought the same as her. Something wasn't right with his home life, and they were going to get to the bottom of it. But right now she was going to take care of Harry, after all he would be hers. "Harry we have to get on the train we only have a few minutes to get on it. I'll be on in a moment I need to say goodbye to my parents okay?" Immediately after saying this the ten minute whistle went off.

Harry nodded and said goodbye to the nice couple that helped him through the barrier and went to find an open compartment while Nymphadora said goodbye. The three people watched him go and after he walked maybe fifteen feet his hair became black and short again. Turning back to her parents she talked quickly so she could get back to Harry and find out more about him. "Mom, Dad can you two find out about Harry's home life? He shouldn't act like that when someone touches him."

"I know dear," her mother said. "We'll look into it while your at Hogwarts. For now though go find Harry on the train and look out for him. There are many people ho would try to befriend him just for his fame."

"Alright mom, just owl me when you find anything. I'll owl you if I find anything out too." She looked at her parents for a moment before pulling them both into a powerful hug before letting go and saying, "Bye mom, bye dad. I'll see you two at Christmas." With that she ran to the train and began looking for her little pseudo-charge. As she ran she started thinking of ways to make him like her, after all she did have a habit of trying to be the one who wears the pants in the relationships she's been in.

Scene Change

After checking two cars worth of compartments Nymphadora finally found her little man sitting alone in a compartment reading what looked like his potions book but he couldn't be sure. Taking great care to open the door quietly she poked her head through the gap. "Hey Harry," she called out softly, "can I join you in here?" Nymphadora was sad to see how jumpy he was when he nearly jumped out of his seat when she started talking.

After calming down for a moment after being startled out of his reading Harry looked up into the face of Nymphadora and again his hair changed color to hers and grew to shoulder length. His eyes also changed from their green to a light purple color which seemed to reflect on his shyness. Nymphadora found it adorable he couldn't control his powers yet and seemed to copy her whenever he seen her. He blushed when he heard that she wanted to sit with him. He nodded quickly though he didn't know why she wanted to sit with him, she was beautiful after all and he was just a freak, but if she wanted to stay with him he wouldn't say no. "S-sure. S-so Nymphadora how long have y-you been going to Hogw-warts?" Harry asked nervously after she sat down next him. He was surprised that he didn't sit across from him.

"First of all Harry do not call me Nymphadora. I hate that name," she finished with a glare that Harry shrank back from. Sh sighed thinking of how hard it would be to get him out of his shell. "Its okay Harry you didn't know. Just call me Tonks. And this will be my fourth year at Hogwarts."

"W-why don't you like your n-name? I think i-it's really p-pretty. If I c-can't call you that then call you N-nym, or D-dora?" Harry was somewhat scared of what the beautiful girl's reaction would be so he played with the edge of her shirt while he waited for an answer.

Tonks eyed Harry for a moment deciding if she was okay with what he asked. She noticed he was playing with hi shirt and had a faint blush on his cheeks. "Hmm, I guess you can call me Dora. However," she continued after seeing him smile brightly, "only you can call me that, got it?"

"Y-yes!" For some reason, unknown to him, it made him happy being the only one allowed to caller her Dora. She smiled at his enthusiasm and was pulled into a hug just as the door opened. She noticed he stiffened again as she pulled him in but decided she would ignore it for now and just get him used to affectionate contact.

Standing in the door was a bushy-haired girl. Her hair was brown and her teeth were slightly large Behind her was a nervous looking pudgy boy with black hair. They were both already in their robes. "I was wondering if you've seen a toad?" the bushy-haired girl said in a self-assured tone. Tonks found it adorable that Harry buried his face in her hair since there were new people in the compartment. Even though she wanted to help him come out of his shy shell she still found it endearing that he seemed to trust her. He even relaxed into the hug.

"I haven't seen one but I know of a spell that can summon objects to you. I haven't practiced it yet since I'm supposed to learn it this year but I can give it a try." She adopted a look of concentration on her face as she tried to remember the spell and the theory behind it. "Ah I remember now! What's the name of the toad?"

"Trevor," the nervous pudgy boy answered.

Tonks nodded her head and again a look of concentration feel upon her face and pulled out her wand. "_Accio Trevor."_ Suddenly the hood to the pudgy boy's robes gave a few jerks causing the boy to fall over before the spell faded. "It looks like your toad is in your robes," Tonks said between giggles cause by what happened and was also happy to see Harry came out from her neck... she really needed to do something about his shyness or at least figure out what caused him to be like this. "Why don't you two take a seat. I'm Tonks and this is Harry."

"My name is Hermione Granger and this is Neville Longbottom." After taking her seat she looked at the two and tilted her head. "can I ask you some questions?"

"Sure go for it."

"Is that your guys' natural hair color? I've never seen anyone with pink hair before, or purple eyes now that I see it."

"We're metamorphmagi. We can change certain things about our appearance like our hair and eye color." Tonks answered knowingly. This answered one of Harry's questions about her pretty hair but he didn't think he was one, he felt he could never be anything as cool as that. He was also confused as to why Hermione asked about both of them.

"I'm n-not a metamorphmagus, a-am I?" Tonks looked at him weird before he realized he probably didn't know what he was doing.

"Of course you are Harry. Didn't you realize that you have pink hair right now?" After asking this she grabbed a lock of Harry's hair and moved it in front of his eyes. He was surprised to see his hair was, in fact, pink. His surprise showed in his appearance for a moment when his haired cycled through a few colors, green, yellow, orange, purple and then back to pink. Hermione and Neville were surprised to the sudden rapidly changing hair colors, though Tonks just giggled from next to him.

"I have one more question. What is your wand made of? It looked like it kept changing colors and shape slightly."

"It's made of wood from a changeling tree. It makes pretty nifty wands, though they usually pick metamorphs for their partners." Hearing this, Harry thought back to when his wand picked him.

* * *

"Hmm, tricky customer, eh?" Ollivander muttered under his breath as he picked up yet another wand and handed it to Harry. "I'm sure this on will be it holly and phoenix feather," he proclaimed handing the wand to Harry. He only got part way through waving it before it was, once again, snatched out of his hand and laid back in it's box. "Hmm, there are only a few wands left. Maybe... yes it could be." Ollivander continued muttering as he walked to the back of his store once again.

Minutes later he returned with the dustiest box yet and pulled out a most curious looking wand. It was nearly twelve inches, perfectly straight with a handle made from what looked like leather but was actually dragon skin. The wand also seemed to be changing colors before his eyes. It went from deep purple to a light brown never settling on one color. Looking closer he could see that the wand wasn't actually perfectly straight, it seemed to wiggle very slightly.

"Here we are, now give it a wave, give it a wave!" Ollivander seemed extremely excited at the prospect of the wand working as he placed the wand in Harry's hand.

Harry immediately felt like something inside of him break free before a gentle warmth spread over him. The warmth for some reason felt like what he imagined it love felt like. Unbeknownst to him his hair and eyes changed colors rapidly as he stared, transfixed, at his wand before settling back to his normal black color. His concentration on examining the wand and feeling of warmth was interrupted with the gleeful clapping and laughter of Ollivander.

"I was wondering when I would be able to sell another one of these wands." Ollivander seemed unable to contain his glee. "It's eleven and three-quarter inches made from the wood of a changeling tree with a hair from the most recent metamorphmagus as it's core. It will be quite masterful with transfiguration and not too shabby at charms either I must say."

Harry couldn't help but stare in wonder and awe at his wand. He couldn't wait to start his classes and learn how to do magic. Maybe he could even make some friends while he was there.

* * *

"T-that reminds me Dora. You s-said that you're a metamorphm-magus right?" Receiving a nod he continued. "Did you e-ever donate a hair to O-ollivander?" Receiving another nod Harry pulled out his wand and showed it to her. "I think I h-have your hair in my w-wand." She giggled a little at his poor attempt at a joke when it suddenly dawned on her that the wand she donated a hair to picked him. To her that was just another sign that she should get him. Besides maybe if her hair helped pick him, he would compliment her personality. She filed that away for another later though, she would need to work on him when they were alone (A/N: not like that people who think like that _). She felt a change in topics was needed though, she could see he didn't like the attention he drew to himself.

"So what houses are you all hoping to be in?" she asked as innocently as she could.

"I'm hoping to be in Gryffindor," Hermione instantly replied. "Professor Dumbledore was in that house, it must be the best."

"Just because someone was in a house doesn't mean it's the best Hermione," Tonks admonished. "Think about it this way, your sorted to the house where your most likely to get along and share many of the same views with. If you love knowledge then you should embrace it, not go to a house just because someone you admire was in the house." Hermione looked down thinking about what Tonks had just told her. It made sense but all the books told her that Dumbledore was in that house and she wanted to be that great.

"Hermione, y-you shouldn't try to be s-someone your not." Harry was speaking so quietly everyone had to lean in to listen. "Be yourself, n-not someone else. You c-can be great being y-yourself. Just believe i-in yourself." Again Hermione was forced to think. What Harry had said makes sense. She didn't want to be known because she was like someone else. She wanted to be known because she was herself. Finally she nodded ascenting to Harry's point who gave a small smile in return.

"What about you Neville? What house do you want to be in?"

"I don't know. My parents were both in Gryffindor but I'm probably not good enough for that. I'll probably be in Hufflepuff." This was met with outrage by Tonks.

"Oi! I'm a Hufflepuff and there's nothing wrong with that. We're loyal to the end and the hardest workers there are. If you have a friend in the 'Puffs you'll have a friend for life." Tonks was quite forceful in this declaration which startled Neville since he always heard Hufflepuff was for the rejects. Harry on the other hand thought this sounded nice. He always wanted friends. He had hoped Dora would be his friend and the sound of more friends in Hufflepuff sounded like something he wanted.

"What about you cutie," Tonks said ruffling Harry's still pink hair from next to him and hoping giving him a nickname wouldn't," what house do you want to be in?"

"Hufflep-puff sounds amazing. I'd l-like to go there if I could." Tonks was very happy hearing this it would mean that she could spend more time with him.

"That's great cutie, I hope that we can spend much more time together she said tightening her arm that was still around him comfortingly. He blushed quite a bit when he realized that she had her arm around him and his hair changed color to match his now red face. He didn't know how he forgot that her arm was around him, he just felt comforted.

"Hey cutie." Tonks said interrupting Harry's thoughts. "Do you want me to teach you how to control your metamorphmagus powers?" Harry seemed to perk up at this. He wanted to be able to control this instead of just copying Tonks. He didn't mind copying her but he didn't think having no control over his ability was a good idea.

Just as Tonks was about to start to explain how he was supposed to explain her friends popped into the compartment.

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A/N: Woo chapter 1 done and its like 3.5k words I think it's my longest chapter written ever without the authors note, which isn't saying much seeing as I've read like 40k word long chapters... makes me feel insignificant. If you liked the concept for the wand let me know, I thought it'd be a nifty idea. Anyway hope you enjoyed it.


	2. Learning to Metamorph

A/N: Figured I would make this scene a different chapter. It might be much shorter but I felt the whole learning to use his powers should be separated entirely. This chapter is much shorter because I didn't have too much to cover for the scenes I wanted in it. Don't have much to say besides enjoy chapter two of Hufflepuff's Metamorphmagi.

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Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell all burst into the compartment just as Tonks was about to go into her explanations. "Tonksie!" They all yelled at the same time causing said girl to scowl at them and everyone else to jump.

"What are you doing here Tonksie? You weren't in our usual compartment." Alicia Spinnet was the one who posed this question.

"Yeah Tonks, we were looking all over for you," Katie followed.

"Sorry guys. I found my new little friend here and decided to watch out for him." When Tonks said this Harry blushed again and his hair changed with his face causing the three new girls to gasp. "As you guys can obviously tell he's a metamorph like me. I was actually about teach him how to purposely change his appearance."

"You mean he can't change it on purpose yet? If that's so then why does did his hair go back to pink?" This time it was Angelina who asked the question.

"He just seems to like copying my pink hair for some reason. I haven't seen if he can copy any other colors yet." After saying this Tonks looked at Harry for a second and then changed her hair to an acid green and Harry's quickly followed suit. This caused all four older coo at this thinking of how adorable it was that Harry just kept matching the girl who had her arm around him.

"Last question Tonksie before we'll let you go and teach your little friend here."

Tonks sighed, she really wanted to teach Harry how to control his powers. "Fine last question Katie. I really need to teach this to him. We're about an hour forty-five minutes away from Hogwarts and I really want to teach this to him."

"Whats with the other firsties?" Katie pointed to the two small first years who were talking quietly to each other until Katie pointed it out.

"Actually," Hermione interrupted, "we were just about to go see who our other classmate are going to be." Hermione quickly got up and pulled Neville with her. "Bye Tonks, Harry." And with that they left leaving only Harry and the four older girls causing him to blush. Thankfully for him though it wasn't bad enough to change his hair.

"Alright cutie, are you ready to learn how to change your appearance now?" Tonks received a nod as a response.

"Okay, here's what you need to do. I want you to close your eyes and picture yourself in a white room. All you can see it white, except a large full-body mirror in front of you. Tell me when you can see that."

"I'm h-here," Harry called out to the white room.

"Good," he heard Dora's voice echoed around the room," now I want you to imagine the changes that you want in the mirror picture how you want to look. Only change your eyes and hair for now."

Harry stared at the mirror for and started picturing how he wanted to look. To his amazement he seem the changes he wanted appearing on his reflection. He decided to start with his hair he switched through as many colors as he could think of. Finally after what felt like ten minutes of changing he decided on a medium length ice blue. Next he decided to change his eyes he tried thinking of what would clash with his hair and decided on a piercing red. "I h-have the look I w-want Dora."

In response Dora's voice echoed around the room again. "Alright now cutie last step. I want you to believe that the changes are real. Feel it transferring from the mirror onto your actual body." Harry felt a tingling on his scalp and eyes that he didn't feel before when he apparently changed. Maybe it was because he was aware of the changes now. "Good, now when I'm going to count back from five and when I say one, I want you to wake up. Five, four, three, two, one."

Harry opened his eyes to see the girls looking at him approvingly. He felt good knowing they approved of what he did. He hoped to get their approval more often in Hogwarts.

"Congratulations cutie you did it." Dora hugged him and he blushed but instead of stiffening he leaned into the hug. For some reason he didn't mind it when Dora touched him, it felt like his wand did when he first picked it up. Maybe it was because Dora's hair was in it? He didn't too much right now, he would figure it out later. His musings were interrupted when Dora spoke, "Look out the window cutie. Welcome to Hogwarts." Sure enough outside the window was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

* * *

A/n: I wasn't kidding about the shortness of the chapter =P. Next chapter should be at least 2k words though. Sorting ceremony will deserves more. Also anyone hoping for a Dumbledore who's very outspoken and is rash in his attempts to get what he wants like in my other story you will be disappointed. In this he will be much more subtle and won't lose his cool unless the situation truly calls for it. Anyway...toodles.


	3. The Sorting Ceremony

A/N: Here's chapter 3. Finally got off my ass and decided to write it. I hope you all like it, and if you were wondering why there wasn't major Harry Potter hype last chapter: he never met the Weasley's so Fred and George didn't spread the rumor of Harry Potter, and Tonks didn't actually say he was a potter. Now on to the story!

* * *

Harry stared out the window into the night where he could see the lit up outline of a castle. He was a little nervous of the idea of being around all the new people in a place he had never been before. He shuddered thinking of the last time someone touched him. His uncle had not been pleased when Hagrid dropped him off back at Privet Drive. He had taken his time to show his _displeasure_.

Luckily for him Dora's arm was still draped over him and she was leaning on him while looking out the window with him. He didn't know why but her touching him didn't make him nervous or scared, for some reason he wished she would do things like this often in the future... he needed to get in the same house as her.

"Its okay," Dora soothed. "whether you're sorted into Hufflepuff or not I'll still watch out for you. Besides if you really want to be in the same house as me all you have to do tell the sorter where you want to go." When she had initially started speaking again Harry worried that he wouldn't be in the same house as the person who's touch was soothing to him, but by the time she finished he felt relieved.

A warning came over a loudspeaker of some kind warning people that the train was five minutes away from the station. Hearing this Harry quickly went to the bathroom and changed into his school robes. While he was out the girls had a little talk while waiting for him to return.

"So Tonks," Angelina began jokingly waggling her eyebrows, "whats the really going on with your little first year friend?"

Tonks thought about the best way to convey her feelings so that there could be absolutely no misunderstanding between them. "He's mine," she growled possessively causing her friend's eyebrows to raise simultaneously.

"Tonks, you realize that he's four years younger than you right? Hell, he isn't even a teenager yet. He's probably just started puberty!"

"Calm down Angelina. I'm not planning on rushing a physical relationship. You seen him when you burst into the compartment, he jumped like, three feet in the air. Besides, if you think I'm going to let the only other man in the country who understands the blight of a metamoph go, then you are sorely mistaken," Tonks finished her rant with a derisive sniff at the other girls daring them to continue challenging her. After a minute or two Katie decided to speak up.

"Angelina is just making sure you haven't gone off your rocker Tonksie. Don't worry we won't try to steal 'your man'. Unless of course your okay with that." Tonks scowled at the use of the nickname the girls had given her. She was about to respond but unfortunately for her argument the compartment door opened revealing Harry.

"Hey there cutie, your robes looks pretty good on you." Harry's response to being called cutie was only increased by being complimented by the girl who made him feel safe and liked. That is to say, he blushed up to the roots of his hair, and then his hair took it upon itself to continue the blush turning a bright red, just what Dora was trying to do to him. "Come here cutie and sit back down next to me."

Instead of responding verbally, Harry just nodded and sat down next to the bubbly girl. Dora hoping to further get him used to her touching him threw her arm over his shoulder and pulled him close which didn't help with his still existent blush. With that the residents of the compartment sat in silence waiting the last few minutes before the train arrived at Hogsmead station, though that didn't stop Angelina, Alicia, and Katie shooting Tonks looks and her returning the looks with glares of her own.

* * *

"Okay cutie," Dora said her arm still around his shoulders as they left the train, "just follow Hagrid, he's really tall man over there." Dora pointed over to Hagrid who looked pretty much the same thing Harry seen him wearing last time. Namely wearing a moleskin coat with his bushy hair and beard. "He'll take you to some boats and to the sorting. I'll see you there in the hall during the sorting."

Just as she was about to leave him he pulled on the hem of her robes and mumbled something to quiet for her to hear.

"What was that cutie?"

"I said what if they d-don't sort me and tell everyone they made a mistake and I get sent back to my relatives? I don't want to go back to my relatives Dora." Dora was happy that he only stuttered once, even if he had said what worried him so fast she almost missed it. She took it as a sign that he was getting more secure around her.

"Harry," she said seriously, "they won't send you back to your relatives. Believe me, there is no way they would reject you, you already have you acceptance letter and those only get sent if someone is magical enough for it." Harry looked up into her eyes, red meeting purple, and nodded. "And don't worry if you get sorted into another house. I'll still be here for you, though it would still be nice if we were." Harry nodded mollified with her responses to his deeper worries that had surface last minute. "Oh, and Harry, after you get sorted I want to talk to you about your relatives." Seeing the panic on Harry's face she tried to calm him. "I have an idea of what they've done Harry," she said in a low voice, "I want to help Harry. If they're doing what I think they are I'll do my best to take you away from them."

The fear in Harry's eyes receded and was replaced with something Dora didn't expect to see so soon. It was replaced with trust. Harry looked at her a moment longer before tentatively hugging her, which shocked Dora, said goodbye and turned away.

Harry walked to Hagrid ignoring the stares of the other people forgetting about his appearance and thinking they were just acting like the people at the leaky cauldron and staring at him because of some stupid fame. He was able to ignore the mutterings and stares all the way into the boats, across the lake, and onto the shore where he the group of children was introduced to professor McGonagall.

She looked over the students after they had been handed over to her by Hagrid. She noticed with some panic that Harry Potter was absent but was curious to see a boy with icy blue hair and disturbing red eyes. This made her excited, metamorphmagi were amazing at transfiguration, and if this boy was as good as the girl then she would enjoy watching his progress over his years at the school.

"Greeting children," she began Scottish accent, "and welcome to Hogwarts. You will all be sorted in a few moments, but an introduction for the houses before then. The four houses of Hogwarts are Gryffindor for the brave, Ravenclaw for those who seek knowledge, Slytherin, for the cunning and ambitious, and lastly Hufflepuff for the hardworking and loyal. While in the school your house is your family. Finally points are awarded for your good deeds and reduced for your misdeeds. If you have any other questions you will need to ask your future house mates. I will be back in a moment. I must make sure the hall is ready for you." With those parting words Professor McGonagall left the group of students lone while she checked the hall.

Harry was leaning against a wall off to the side and away from the crowd waiting for the professor to come back and sort him until a somewhat self-important voice interrupted his internal worries, "Hey whats with your hair. Are you a freak or something?" Harry flinched at the word freak, memories of his uncle surfacing unbidden into his mind's eye.

He looked over to the boy who called him such a thing. He had hair the color of copper and a dirt smudged nose. His blue eyes though, Harry noticed, didn't have the cruel gleam his family's did whenever they called him a freak or beat him. His eyes only showed curiosity, as if it was perfectly normal to call someone different a freak. For some reason that hurt more than if he had been called freak with malicious intent.

His hair changed from it's icy blue to a deep blue and shortened slightly in length but laid perfectly flat, as if showing his pained thoughts. His eyes followed the example of his hair changing into the palest purple.

'But.' he thought, 'Dora isn't a freak, at least I don't think she is, and I'm just like her. So doesn't that mean I'm not a freak either.'

"I'm... I'm not a f-freak." He hated his stutter and couldn't wait to get back to the safety of Dora.

"Oh." Suddenly his eyes flicked up and spotted something he couldn't see before due to Harry's hair getting in the way. "You're Harry Potter!" he said loudly making everyone else stop talking and look over at them. Before Harry got a chance to say anything another boy with pale gelled back blond hair walked across the room and started talking in an arrogant tone, as if the world owed him everything.

"Harry Potter? Are you blind Weasley? Harry Potter has black hair. Besides, I doubt Harry Potter would waste time talking to a blood traitor like you." Weasley colored with anger at being called a blood traitor, though Harry had no idea what that meant, and before he could say anything Professor McGonagall reentered the room holding a scroll and battered hat.

"We're ready for you now. If you'll all just follow me we can begin the ceremony." Everyone followed the professor through the door and into the Great Hall.

Harry was stunned by the sight of it. The halls was _massive_ with four long tables that traversed one end of the hall to the other. Above the tables suspended seemingly in mid-air were banners representing what Harry imagined were the different houses. The farthest away was green with silver trim and a snake embossed on it. The next one was blue with gold trim and a bird, then red and gold with a lion. The last table's banner was gold with black trim and had a badger embossed on it. Above the banners was possibly the most amazing thing he had ever seen. Instead of a ceiling there appeared to be an open sky and he idly noted someone murmuring 'it's enchanted' and 'Hogwarts: A History'.

His attention was brought to the front of the hall when McGonagall placed the raggedy hat on the stool. He was amazed when the hat lurched and a seem separated revealing a mouth-like tear. He was even more amazed when the hat seemed to sing.

Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can top them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a steady mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

Harry clapped along with everyone else at the end of the song. When everyone stopped Professor McGonagall began talking again.

"When I call your name, you are to come and sit down and have the hat place on your head and you will be sorted. Now: Abbot, Hannah..." Harry tuned most of the sorting out deciding to instead search the tables for Dora. He payed just enough attention to tell where people were going but nothing past that. Finally, he spotter a patch of pink hair at the tables under the banners with the badger and figured it was the Hufflepuff table.

Finally, Professor McGonagall called out "Potter, Harry." Harry felt nervous but any of his fears were set aside by what Dora told him earlier. He was acutely aware of the whispering surrounding him but he did his best to ignore it. The few things that stood out however, were 'whats with his hair?' and 'Is that really Harry Potter.' Finally he reached the stool and sat down. This was immediately followed by the hat being placed on his head, which immediately slipped over his face.

'_Ah, Mr. Potter. I was wondering when I would finally sort you.' _The voice sounded old and scratchy, but what startled Harry the most was that he was hearing the voice in his head.

_'Why have you been waiting to sort me... sir?' _Was sir the right way to address a hat?

_'Just call me hat Mr. Potter. As for why I have been waiting to sort you, you've been on most girl's minds and some boy's minds for quite some time, even more so this year. I'm curious if you're mind will live up to the hype. Now let's see what going on in there...'_

_'You're going through my mind?' _This irked Harry, he didn't want people rooting around his mind.

_'Not to worry Mr. Potter, everything I see in your head is private. Oh, my. I'm sorry, this wasn't what I was expecting. Your life has been a difficult one. You would do well in Slytherin if you have survived that.'_

_'Place me in Hufflepuff please,' _he thought as an image of Dora flashed through his mind.

_'Hmm, brave enough to demand which house I place you in. You would do well in Gryffindor as well.'_

_'Put me in Hufflepuff with Dora!' _Why wasn't the hat listening? Dora had told him it would... did she lie?

_'And finally, you're willing to choose the house you'll live in for one person. That shows true loyalty... better be,' _"Hufflepuff." _'Stay with her Mr. Potter, you'll need her.'_

The hall was silent as Harry took off his hat and began walking towards his pink haired friend. Everyone in the hall noticed as he walked his hair turned from a dark blue, to an light green. When he reached Dora he sat down next to her and she put her arm around his shoulder to comfort and shield him from the attention.

During this, Harry failed to notice his surroundings. He failed to notice the silent shock of most of the hall. He failed to notice the wide eyed stairs of most the staff. He failed to notice the scowling redhead and blond from earlier wondering how to become his friend. But most importantly he failed to notice the Headmaster on his throne, scowling slightly in his direction thinking of plans that needed to be changed and how to get his most valuable piece back under his control and away from the independent witch.

* * *

A/N: And there it is. Hope you enjoyed it, If you have any questions post them in a review and I'll answer them. For those who don't like the stuttering, it'll be gone in a chapter or two mostly due to Tonks' influence. If your wondering if he's becoming comfortable with Tonks to quickly its about 50/50 between she has been nothing but nice and has even taught him something, and that he gets the same feeling from her as he gets from his wand, mostly due to her hair being in it.

Crazyjim87: Excellent idea. They do say all the Blacks have at least a touch of insanity in them and maybe hers will come out here.

Kenka: You bet. By Christmas they will most likely be in a tentative romance. Mostly just being boyfriend/girlfriend without too much physical stuff... that'll come later.

To everyone else reviewing and enjoying it, thanks. Toodles!


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